The Q and the Grey

During the Q Civil War, did the Q still retain their nigh-omnipotent powers? Or were their powers greatly reduced, as the female Q's were when she was onboard Voyager?

Also, since it seems ridiculous to imagine Qs using physical weaponry in their fights (they could vanish away an opponent with their mind, or just throw massively large amounts of energy at them), how is it that the Voyager away team was able to handle and use Q weapons? I mean, obviously the whole civil war scenario was 'dumbed down' for the benefit of the crew, but if the Q were actually using something way beyond the physical to try and dispatch of other Q, it seems impossible that humans would be able to just casually pick up the weapons and use them.

It was all impressionistic. They weren't really using muskets any more than the "real" Q Continuum was a dirt road as seen in "Death Wish". Just like we use technology to do things we can't, the Q did too - only on an infinitely larger scale. They were using weapons so powerful they were fired in their continuum and were destroying star systems in our universe as an unintended byproduct.

The Voyager crew were probably given Q powers (as Riker was in "Hide and Q") in order to compete with them and operate the Q weapons once they entered the Continuum.

True Q is explainable: Amanda's parents were in human form when they conceived her. And they did it via normal human sex. They didn't do it "Q style". Also, they weren't even living as Q's at the time.

What I can't figure out is this: Q's group are the rebels, right? So why are they cast as UNION soldiers?

True Q is explainable: Amanda's parents were in human form when they conceived her. And they did it via normal human sex. They didn't do it "Q style". Also, they weren't even living as Q's at the time.

What I can't figure out is this: Q's group are the rebels, right? So why are they cast as UNION soldiers?

Click to expand...

Only thing I can think is that they think the audience is too dumb to figure out who the "good guys" and "bad guys" are without a reminder about as subtle as a freight train.

It's Lincoln who changed the status quo and rebelled against every normal human instinct that civilization insisted that slavery was necessary and morally justifiable.

Click to expand...

Uh.. Lincoln suspended habeus corpus, arrested people who spoke out too much against the war, and generally exceeded his constitutional powers during the war.

Had he lost that war, he would've been remembered as a something of a tyrant I'm sure. Victory does forgive a lot of things though, so we have a marble statue of him featured prominently in our nation's capital.

One of the things I really liked about this episode was Suzie Plakson as the female Q. It was nice to finally see her outside of alien makeup for once!

Loved her scene with Torres too!

Click to expand...

Try to find an old sitcom called Love and War, it started with that girl from the Partridge Family, then graduated to Annie Potts, but Suzie was a second stringer Barfly who spent a lot of time on a barstool in a very short dress.

There was a lot of Basic Instinct Potential.

Her sex scenes with Chris Elliot on How I met Your Mother have been disturbing.

One of the things I really liked about this episode was Suzie Plakson as the female Q. It was nice to finally see her outside of alien makeup for once!

Loved her scene with Torres!

Click to expand...

I'll agree with this one. The "I'm not talking about the puppy" line was hilarious too. She really held her own with de Lancie's Q to be certain.

As amusing as the Q's banter and jibes are, they shouldn't be what are supposed to carry an episode. Take Tapestry for instance. Sure Q was being an amusing imp in that one needling Picard rather mercilessly all through it, but it was about Picard's mortality, sense of self-worth and figuring out what made his life worth living. Q's banter just enhanced that. What was this episode about again?

It's Lincoln who changed the status quo and rebelled against every normal human instinct that civilization insisted that slavery was necessary and morally justifiable.

Click to expand...

Uh.. Lincoln suspended habeus corpus, arrested people who spoke out too much against the war, and generally exceeded his constitutional powers during the war.

Had he lost that war, he would've been remembered as a something of a tyrant I'm sure. Victory does forgive a lot of things though, so we have a marble statue of him featured prominently in our nation's capital.

Click to expand...

Wilson and FDR did far worse things domestically during war, and they had less reason to, since the existence of the country itself wasn't at issue like it was during the ACW.

It's Lincoln who changed the status quo and rebelled against every normal human instinct that civilization insisted that slavery was necessary and morally justifiable.

Click to expand...

Uh.. Lincoln suspended habeus corpus, arrested people who spoke out too much against the war, and generally exceeded his constitutional powers during the war.

Had he lost that war, he would've been remembered as a something of a tyrant I'm sure. Victory does forgive a lot of things though, so we have a marble statue of him featured prominently in our nation's capital.

Click to expand...

Wilson and FDR did far worse things domestically during war, and they had less reason to, since the existence of the country itself wasn't at issue like it was during the ACW.

Click to expand...

You're right. They also won. Winston Churchill had a hell of a point when he said, "History shall be kind to me for I intend to write it."

agreed, especially since two Q had already had children together before("true Q), so the whole "messiah child" concept was pointless.

A silly, dumb, but somewhat fun episode.

Click to expand...

It's possible, since Q is able to time travel, that the Q Civil War and Quinn's suicide actually took place before (from Q's point of view) Amanda was even born. Q could have traveled forward to the future at some point to harrass Voyager, since he knew that they'd be beaming Quinn from the comet, etc. This is all speculation, of course, but it is possible.